


that day seven years ago

by BoisterousBattlecat



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Action, BAMF Tifa Lockhart, Gen, Tifa Week 2020, Time Travel, things aren't alright but they're going to get better, tifa is still kinda traumatized from everything that happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24064888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoisterousBattlecat/pseuds/BoisterousBattlecat
Summary: Tifa’s reading a novel when the air pops and she finds herself falling over a scene that’s haunted her nightmares for years, Sephiroth swinging Masamune at herself inside that cursed reactor.She blocks the blade with her boot before she can even think.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart & Sephiroth
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	that day seven years ago

**Author's Note:**

> _Don’t think I’m not that strong. I’m the one to take you on. Don’t underestimate me boy, I’ll make you sorry you were born. — don't call me baby by madison avenue_
> 
> Thanks so much to [sanctum_c](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c) for betaing and catching all my stupid little mistakes! ><

Tifa’s reading a novel when the air pops and she finds herself falling over a scene that’s haunted her nightmares for years, Sephiroth swinging Masamune at herself inside that cursed reactor.

She blocks the blade with her boot before she can even think.

Her shadow falls over him and Sephiroth’s inhuman eyes widen slightly. Then his arrogant smile returns in full force. “How meaningless. You will only perish with your fellow traitors!”

She kicks off from Masamune and agilely lands down at the landing of the stairs. Her past life all but flings herself out of the walkway’s path. Sephiroth doesn’t care to notice. “Running?” He brandishes Masamune. “How cowardly!”

Tifa looks at herself backed away into a corner—the only thing that let her survive last time was the whim of the fates—Sephiroth’s already leaping in towards her, almost flying above the iron steps, blood-and-mako-covered Masamune cutting through the pods like they’re air.

He swings Masamune at her and she jumps over him, barely noticing the shallow cut Sephiroth marks across her legs. She punches at his back mid-air, though he steps forward just in time that her fist only brushes past his coat.

She lands on the stairs. He turns around from his spot near the exit. They face each other. Tifa swallows and steels herself. Sephiroth’s smirk remains unperturbed, poisonous mako-green eyes glowing like spotlights in the reactor’s dimness. “Do you truly believe that you can defeat the planet’s savior?”

She’s killed Weapons before, but that was with a group… no! Stop it! “There’s no choice but for me to win.”

Sephiroth scoffs and throws a Firaga at her, she dodges by jumping to one of the intact pods, but he’s already pursuing her, impaling Masamune ready—

She dodges again as Masamune cuts the pod where she was into two perfect halves. “Foolish girl. Clinging to your vanity even as your _judgement_ approaches.” Wildly swings again and creates a split across the stairs, cutting off the end of Tifa’s ponytail. “Denying just how _meaningless_ your miserably short life is.” She circles him, gets superficially hit by another barrage of slashes. “But I, _I am perfect_ —”

He leaves himself just open enough for Tifa to kick his head up as hard as she can.

There’s a _crack_ as his neck breaks. He falls down the stairs and lands at their base. Tifa blinks, resists the urge to stand still in disbelief, and jumps down to keep pummeling his body. Hits him, again, again, again, again, _again_ —

The door slams open and she looks up to the boyish face of Zack Fair.

“Oh,” Tifa says, rhythm thoroughly broken.

“Oh,” Fair says, hand slowly reaching for the Buster Sword.

It’s only then Tifa realizes just how much blood is covering her face. She hastily wipes it off and tries to ignore how mad her awkward smile must look. “I was making sure he was dead?” To accentuate the point, she pries off Sephiroth’s Fire materia, exchanges it with her Preemptive, and promptly hits his corpse with a blindingly-bright Firaga.

The floor starts to melt. Fair excuses himself and backs off, eyes never leaving her. Wise, but not enough to stop her from killing him if she really wanted to. She wants to keep burning and burning until there’s nothing left, but logically she can’t risk the fire spreading, can’t _light it all afire in a hot orange blaze—_

She puts it out with a Blizzaga. She always keeps one on her; the range is useful, and she finds it comforting besides.

For a while, no one speaks. The air’s too real. She clenches and unclenches a fist. Footsteps sound behind her, where she’d left Tifa the Nibelheim girl. “Is he dead now? Did you really kill that bastard?”

She looks away from Sephiroth’s cinders, away from wary Zack Fair, away from even the machinery of the reactor itself, and looks up at the metal ceiling, half-hoping to see through to the sky.

“Yes,” she swallows. “Yes, the nightmare’s over now.” Even if it’s not true she’ll keep living until one day it is.

The reactor’s insides churn and Tifa’s ready to destroy a calamity.

**Author's Note:**

> i just kinda wanted to practice writing action scenes and then this happened


End file.
